Erase your CRIMINAL RECORD
and its Devastating Effect on your Future.

Criminal Record?

The Parole Board of Canada is proposing to SCRAP Canadian Pardons and Record Suspensions forever! Is this FACT or FICTION? Read on and see what you must do immediately.

An audit of our client files revealed the following shocking information… On average, our clients wait 9.3 years AFTER they are eligible to apply for a Pardon. Why do clients wait for so long? Why don’t they APPLY for a Record Suspension/Canadian Pardon as soon as they are eligible?

Our survey shows that the top THREE reasons our clients procrastinate are…

It costs too much MONEY.

The processing time for a Canadian Pardon (now called Record Suspension) is TOO SLOW and cannot solve their immediate concerns.

They saw no significant benefit in getting a Record Suspension.

BUT, when they did finally get their Record Suspension, when asked: “Did they REGRET waiting for so long to apply?” Overwhelmingly…the answer is “YES”…they wished they had applied sooner.

Does a Record Suspension REALLY Cost Too Much? Or, Does INACTION Cost you More?

Studies show that without a Record Suspension, it will take you longer to get a job and, when you do get a job, you’ll earn up to 40% less.

Getting a job is also not easy. Background checks are increasingly becoming the norm. If you have a criminal record, you will be earning up to 40% less, being overlooked for promotions, and take longer to find that next job.

Not having a Record Suspension can also force you to take a job you don’t want or force you to stay in a dead-end job due to the restrictions of having a criminal record. For many, the cost of a Record Suspension is less than one week’s wages—you’ll quickly realize you can’t afford to NOT get a Record Suspension.

Is the Parole Board Really SCRAPPING Canadian Pardons & Record Suspensions?

There is MISLEADING information circulating the internet. Ever since the Harper Government handed down their new “tough on crime legislation”, the internet has been buzzing with speculation that the program is being cancelled.

The good news is the Parole Board is NOT scrapping Pardons. However, on February 22, 2012, the Parole Board of Canada changed the name from Pardon to Record Suspension.

To Pardon means to ‘forgive’. They changed the name to Record Suspension because they are no longer in the business of forgiveness. Some serious offenders are now banned from applying…this also means they may have trouble getting employment. Doesn’t this put them at greater risk of re-offending? Sounds backwards.

You now have to wait longer to qualify for a Record Suspension…even though less than 4% of Pardoned people ever re-offended under the old rules. That means we are punishing 96% of the applicants with tougher rules for the less than 4% who had re-offended. The Parole Board fee increased from $150 to $631. (Subsidies to the program have been cancelled.) What is even more alarming is that the Parole Board has been given new powers to deny a Record Suspension at their discretion if they feel it would simply be offensive to give you a Record Suspension, even if you meet the eligibility requirements.

All of these new changes are because of the Harper Government’s support of U.S. style “tough on crime legislation” which studies have proven DO NOT WORK. Just ask the State of Texas… it did not work for them and they pleaded with the Canadian Government “DON’T DO IT!”

Why Did we Begin with the Idea that Canadian Pardon & Record Suspensions are Being Scrapped?

There are two reasons.

First, we wanted you to see the consequences of NOT getting a Record Suspension at the earliest opportunity. Too many of our clients procrastinate far too long before applying for a Record Suspension…and they regret it. We want to STOP procrastination. We’ve learned we’re not really in the Record Suspension/Canadian Pardon business as much as we are in the “Overcoming Procrastination” business! Second, rules around getting a Record Suspension continue to get TOUGHER.

We had to figure out some way for you to view the alarming statistics about your financial future and alert you to the dangerous trends caused by “tough on crime legislation”. Even though the Canadian Pardon program has been renamed and is harder to qualify for, it is becoming even more urgent that people stop procrastinating.

Pardons were once subsidized by the government because people with criminal records often did not have a job. Now that subsidies have been removed, many people with a criminal record put off getting a Record Suspension because of the high cost!

The criminalization of poverty is the subject of another article… but the bottom line is that people with a criminal record who are desperate to get a job often THINK they cannot afford a Record Suspension.

Welcome to the Canadian Legal Resource Centre. We have over 45 years of combined experience working with Pardons and Record Suspensions. The Canadian Legal Resource Centre has won the Consumer Choice Awards for Business Excellence in the category of paralegal services for each of the past 12 years. We are members of the Chamber of Commerce and enjoy an A+ Reputation with the Better Business Bureau. We celebrated 22 years in business in January 2017.

We are also a RCMP Accredited & Certified Fingerprint Agency. What are you waiting for? Call us today during office hours. (403-229-2774)